Reviews

I first read this book back in the early-to-mid 1990s. I think it might have been the first Cadfael book I read. It is a rather fine detective novel, with an interesting historical setting. Shrewsbury, in England, during the 'Anarchy'. The civil war between King Stephen and Queen Maud. When Shrewsbury Castle is final seized by the men of King Stephen its 94 defenders are executed. Yet, when Brother Cadfael comes to the bodies there is one corpse too many. A 95th man. Someone has used these hanging to cover up a different crime. Parallel to that are the stories of Hugh Beringar - who may or may not be a villain; the Lady Aline, Godric and Torund.

Brother Cadfael finds himself involved in all these stories and gradually pulls all the threads together to solve a crime.

Cadfael is such an excellent creation. The Monk who lived as a soldier before he became a Monk. His observational skills are Sherlockian. He's a man you can trust with your secrets.

There's one wild coincidence at the end which seems a little much like cheating, but apart from that this is a joy. So far in the two books I've read only Cadfael has been a properly detailed recurring character. Others are mentioned occasionally. I suspect after this there will be one or two more.

Highly entertaining.

toebean5's review against another edition

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3.0

I've never read one of this series- only watched the show, which I enjoyed. You can definitely start out of order. I really have no background with this historical period, but that was mostly okay. It was a decent mystery to listen to without anything gory or terrible happening.

I would recommend for a roadtrip if you discover that the rental doesn't have a CD player or an aux hookup and you brought 5 different audios in that format and have to find something quick on Overdrive before getting on the highway.

guido_the_nature_guide's review against another edition

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2.0

Perhaps two stars is a bit too harsh, but this one was not quite as interesting as the first book. The prose was occasionally clunky, it being difficult at times to tell which character was speaking or to whom referring. The need to rely on last minute fortuitous happenstance to resolve a mystery is always deserving of a demotion. Still, the story was enjoyable and I will likely read more in the series.

jlynnelseauthor's review against another edition

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5.0

1138 is overshadowed by Civil War between the two heirs of Henry I, and Brother Cadfael, an ex-Crusader-turned-herbalist as well as Benedictine Monk, is called to sort through the aftermath of a mass hanging where he discovers an extra body. Now Cadfael must uncover the name of the victim as well as that of the murderer.

This book was written in 1979, and while the characters can be a bit long-winded, this is a delightful historical mystery. The prose is poetic in construction with sumptuous passages that feel as if from a mythical past time and place. The robustly detailed setting adds to the mystery as Brother Cadfael must sort through clues like the shod of horseshoes, a broken piece of a dagger hilt left behind at the murder site, and other hints that we as readers so often take for granted with modern forensics. It’s a game of calculation and politics, of sword fights to the death, of budding love, and of daring escapes.

There are a variety of characters including two highly capable and intelligent women, and I do love me that girl power. I also enjoy that not all the men are chauvinistic in nature, ready to dismiss or put women down, as is often presented in historical fiction set in medieval times. This, book 2 of the Brother Cadfael mysteries, surpasses its predecessor in terms of depth of the mystery (with its plots and subplots) and urgency as political forces inject themselves as obstacles for our characters. These books are short reads about life in perilous times and mysteries to unravel that are enjoyable and engaging mysteries.

accidentalspaceexplorer's review against another edition

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4.25

I'm quite enjoying these, but in a very chill way. I'm not getting super invested, but I very much sink into them and have a fun time trying to solve the mysteries.

birdwithsword's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

4.0

shadereads's review against another edition

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hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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